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As we move out of summer and into the crisper, heartier days of fall, butter begins to play a bigger role in most people’s lives. Butter is not a cheese, but it is increasingly a very important part of the cheese case as premium European-style, full-fat butters continue to win over consumers for cooking, baking, and snacking purposes. Many cheese managers are merchandising butter right in the cheese case, while others are still positioning them in the dairy section but with a broader range from which to choose. The late Richard Olney once wrote in Simple French Food that pastry made from lard tasted of lard; those made with shortening would taste of shortening; but pastry made with real butter would invariably taste like butter. James Beard asserted that his most comforting food was freshly baked bread slathered with rich creamery butter and accompanied by nothing more than a cup of coffee. Television chefs, including Emeril, Jacques Pepin, Paula Deen, and the domestic goddess herself, Nigella Lawson, use butter these days without pretense or apologies in all sorts of applications. To many people, butter may just be the ultimate comfort food.

Butter is the result of one of Mother Nature’s neater parlor tricks. Fresh cream is an oil-in-water emulsion that usually contains about 40 percent fat.
By churning the cream, or moving it about rapidly, the cream is transformed into a water-in-oil emulsion. In other words, the fat globules are forced together into a continuous mass with small amounts of water trapped inside. Most of the water is expelled in the form of buttermilk. The butter that is left contains at least 80 percent butterfat, and in fact, is significantly higher in European-style butters — as much as 86 percent. Higher fat content means fluffier pastry, smoother sauces, and less spattering during cooking because much less water remains in the butter.

Those who have never churned butter can imagine the process by comparing it to whipping cream. If you’ve ever whipped cream too long and it starts to become very thick, you are well on your way to making butter. Traditionally, cream was set aside to partially ferment for a day or two before churning. This fermentation is the result of lactic acid-producing bacteria that will appear naturally in unpasteurized cream.

Today, starter cultures are typically used to ensure consistency, to lower the pH, and to add character and flavor, just as in cheesemaking. Unlike yogurt and cheese, however, butter does not need these cultures to become butter; instead, the cultures are used to enhance what is already there to boost flavor. Indeed, most butter manufacturers say that the most important factors are the cream’s quality and source, the handling of the cream, and the process used to make the butter. Just like cheese, the best-tasting, highest-quality butters are made a little more slowly and in smaller batches so the process can be monitored more closely. We’re fortunate to have such a wide selection of high-quality butters available to us today, both domestically made and imported varieties. It’s hard to beat the flavor butter imparts to food in cooking or the way it browns food so beautifully, and in baking, it is unsurpassed. If one is concerned about using full-fat butters, try mixing butter with some olive oil for sautéing or make clarified butter, or what they call ghee in India. Make sure you offer your customers a good selection of butter and that they are all of the highest quality and taste.